Siman 1

It is written (Proverbs 15:24): "The path of life leads upward for the wise, that he may turn away from the depths below." And its explanation appears to be: for the angels were created on the second day, as is explained in the Midrash, and similarly it is explained in the psalm "Bless the Lord, O my soul": "Who lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters… Who makes His angels spirits." And the separation of the waters was on the second day, and the beasts were created on the fifth day. And the angels serve their Creator and have no yetzer hara, and the beasts have a yetzer hara and have no knowledge. And it follows that for the angels, reward does not reach them for their service, since they have no yetzer hara, and for the beasts, punishment is not applicable since they have no knowledge.

For this reason, the Holy One, blessed be He, created man on the sixth day. And He created him from two extremes: He placed within him the soul which illuminates man to know the Creator, may He be blessed, like an angel, as it is said: "The soul of man is the lamp of the Lord." And He formed him with a body which is coarse matter like a beast, to eat, drink, and sleep. For this reason, great wars will be aroused within man all the days of his life, for the animalistic soul incites him toward the desires of this world like a beast, and the pure soul fights against it and shows him that he was not created for this, but rather to serve the Creator like an angel. And even the physical things that he is compelled to do, such as eating, drinking, and sleeping—the intention should be so that he will be able to serve his Creator. And regarding this it is said: "I have set the Lord before me always." And after the death of man, they show him that all his deeds are written in a book, and the signature of man's hand is upon it. And if he walked in the path of the Torah and the mitzvah—he inherits Gan Eden, which is a pleasure without limit and without continuation of time. And regarding them it is said: "They are satiated from the fatness of Your house, and You give them to drink from the stream of Your delights; for with You is the source of life, in Your light we see light." And if, Heaven forbid, the opposite—he inherits Gehennam, for all the sufferings of this world are as nothing compared to it. And regarding them it is said: "And they shall go out and see the corpses of the men who rebelled against Me, for their worm shall not die and their fire shall not be extinguished, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh." And Gehennam has seven names, and these are they: "Sheol," and "Avaddon," and "Be'er Shachat," and "Be'er Shaon," and "Tit Hayaven," and "Tzalmavet," and "Eretz Hatachtit" (Eruvin 19a). And anyone who is enticed by his inclination falls there, and therefore it is also called "Tofteh," as it is written: "For Tofteh has been prepared since yesterday" (ibid.).

And this is what Solomon said: "The path of life is upward for the wise, that he may depart from Sheol below." That is to say: You, the wise man, since you have two paths—either to lift eye and heart upward toward the Creator, may He be blessed, which is the path of life, or to look downward at animalistic desires—therefore I command you that your path of life shall be only upward, that he may depart from Sheol below. That is to say: if you look downward—you will fall into Sheol, which is the first level of Gehenna, and from there you will fall further down and down.

And every person of understanding must understand: just as if we saw a king of flesh and blood building a precious building composed of two opposites, in which he built precious stones—onyx and jasper and every precious stone—and also of clay and dust, would it enter one's mind that the purpose of the king's intention is for the sake of the clay and dust? Surely the purpose of the building is the precious stones, and the clay and dust are only for the strengthening of the building. So too, the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, who created man composed of a pure soul which is a portion of God from above, and it shall return to God after his death, and also of a coarse body which is clay and dust, would it enter one's mind that the purpose is the clay and dust? Anyone who thinks so is nothing but a fool and a madman. And this is what Akavia ben Mahalalel said: Reflect upon three things and you will not come to the hands of transgression: Know from where you came, and to where you are going… meaning: the soul is a portion of God from above and shall return to its source. And conversely the body: From where did you come? From a putrid drop. And to where are you going? To a place of dust, worms, and maggots. And in this it is clarified that the purpose is the Divine soul. Therefore, first of all, a person must know the foundations of our holy and pure Torah.

The foundation of the Torah and the pillar of service is to know that there is one God, singular and unique, and He created all the worlds, and He supervises them at every time and every moment. And if one could imagine, Heaven forbid, the removal of His supervision—even for a moment all the worlds would return to chaos and void. And this is what is stated: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One." And it is stated: "And you shall know today... that the Lord is God in the heavens above and on the earth below, there is no other." That is to say: that there is no power besides Him, may He be blessed, and He is the One who brings all worlds into being, and He is the One who gives life to all worlds, and He is the One who sustains them. And at the giving of the Torah we saw this with our senses, as it is written: "You have been shown to know that the Lord is God, there is none else besides Him." That is to say: that the Lord who created all the worlds—He is the supervisor and the leader over them forever and for all eternity. And "God" means: supervision and leadership, and there is no power, great or small, besides Him, may He be blessed.

This God we are obligated to love with a complete and absolute love, until all loves—such as love of oneself, love of one's wife, love of one's sons and daughters, love of money—shall be nullified against the love of Him, may He be blessed, and they are as truly nothing. And this is what the verse says: "And you shall love Hashem your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might." And it is the language of "might" [me'od], meaning: everything that is very, very [me'od me'od] dear to you—you shall nullify against the love of Him, may He be blessed. "And with all your heart"—our sages, of blessed memory, expounded: with both your inclinations, with the good inclination and with the evil inclination. That is to say: you should not say that since the evil inclination incites you to transgress His will, may He be blessed, if so, why did He create it? For the truth is that even the intention of the evil inclination is that you should not desire it and not listen to it, but rather that the Creator, may He be blessed, thus decreed upon it that it should incite you to transgress His will, may He be blessed, so that through your choice you shall serve Hashem and not as one compelled. For this is the primary purpose of the creation of man, and through this power he is greater than an angel, as I wrote in section 1 (and so it is explained in the Zohar).

And in the Sifrei they expounded: Rabbi Meir says: It says, "And you shall love Hashem your God with all your heart" – love Him with all your heart like Abraham our father, as it is said: "Abraham who loves Me." And it says: "And You found his heart faithful before You." "And with all your soul" – like Isaac, who bound himself upon the altar. "And with all your might" – be thankful to Him like Jacob, as in the matter that is said: "I am unworthy of all the kindnesses...". And they further said there: "And you shall love..." – make Him beloved to all creatures like Abraham your father, as in the matter that is said: "And the souls that they had made in Haran." That is to say: just as Abraham, because he loved Him with heart and soul, called upon people to believe in His divinity, so shall you do to make Him beloved to the creatures, and to bring them close to His service, may He be blessed. We further learn in the Sifrei: Since it is said "And you shall love" – I do not know how one loves Him? The verse teaches: "And these words which I command you today shall be upon your heart," for through this you recognize the One who spoke and the world came into being. That is to say: that with contemplation of the Torah – the love will necessarily settle in the heart (Chinuch).

And so too we were commanded to fear Him, may He be blessed, as it is written: "You shall fear the Lord your God." This is the wording of the Rambam in the Sefer HaMitzvot, commandment 4: That He commanded us to believe in fear of Him, may He be exalted, and to be afraid of Him. And we should not be like the deniers who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and by happenstance, but rather we should fear with the fear of His punishment at all times. And this is what is said: "You shall fear the Lord your God." Thus far his words. And in his great work, at the beginning of the second chapter of Yesodei HaTorah, he wrote: And what is the path to love of Him and fear of Him? At the time when a person contemplates His works and His wondrous, great creations, and sees from them His wisdom that has no value or end—immediately he loves and praises and glorifies, and desires a great desire to know the great Name, as David said: "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God." And when he thinks about these very things—immediately he recoils backward, and will fear and be afraid, and knows that he is a small, lowly, dark creature, standing with light, meager knowledge before the Perfect in Knowledge. As David said: "When I see Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, what is man that You should remember him?" Thus far his words. And in Sefer HaMitzvot he explained "simple fear," which is fear of punishment, and here he explained "fear of loftiness." And regarding this we learned in the Sifrei: You have no love in a place of fear, and fear in a place of love, except in the measure of the Holy One, blessed be He, alone; see there. That is to say: that fear and love are two opposites, but with fear of loftiness both can certainly exist, for through the greatness of the level of His loftiness, may He be blessed—one fears Him with the fear of the exalted level, and loves Him with all his heart and with all his soul.

And we were commanded to walk in His good and upright ways, as it is said: "And you shall walk in His ways." And it is said: "After the Lord your God you shall walk." And it is said: "To walk in all His ways" – just as He is gracious, so too you be gracious; just as He is merciful, so too you be merciful (a similar idea in Sotah 14a), and to emulate His good actions and His upright traits according to our ability. And it is a positive commandment to cleave to the sages and to their students in order to learn from their deeds, as it is said: "And to Him you shall cleave." Is it then possible for a person to cleave to the Shekhinah, for is He not a consuming fire? Rather, cleave to the sages and to the students (Ketubot 111b). And be one who powders himself in the dust of their feet, and drinks their words with thirst. And it is said: "He who walks with the wise shall become wise." And it is said: "Praised is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the wicked..."

The Semag wrote in the positive commandments, commandment 17: It is a positive commandment to justify the judgment for everything that occurs, as it is said: "And you shall know with your heart, that as a man disciplines his son, so Hashem your God disciplines you..." Thus far his words. And we, the children of Israel, weary of time, without rest for nearly two thousand years—we are obligated to know that this is all for our benefit, to refine us, as the prophet Zechariah said: "And I will refine them as silver is refined, and I will test them as gold is tested. He shall call on My name, and I will answer him. I have said, 'He is My people,' and he shall say, 'Hashem is my God.'" And the explanation of the verse: to believe with complete faith that all our troubles and all our wanderings are not by way of vengeance, Heaven forbid, but rather in order to refine us. For if it were not so, no remnant of us would have remained throughout the course of these many hundreds of years, and you have no sign or greater wonder than this—our survival for such a long time—for this is only because His providence, may He be blessed, is upon us, and has not departed and will not depart even for a moment, like a father who watches over his only son and disciplines him for his benefit. And the proof for this: for throughout the entire time of the exile, "He shall call on My name and I will answer him." That is to say: when we pray to Him, may He be blessed—He answers us in every time of trouble and distress. "I have said, 'He is My people,' and he shall say...", that is to say: for we see that throughout all this long time, the people of the children of Israel walk in the path of the Torah and the mitzvah, and He, may He be blessed, calls us "My people," and we call Him "the God of Israel."

It is among the foundations of the faith to believe that our holy Torah, as it is, was given to us from Sinai by our teacher, Moses. With the absence of even one letter it is invalid, and there is no difference in its holiness between the verse "Shema Yisrael" and the verse "And Timna was a concubine." And just as the Holy One, blessed be He, lives and endures forever and for all eternity, so too the Torah is eternal, as we say in "Emet Veyatziv": "He endures and His name endures... and His words are living and enduring, faithful and desirable forever and for all eternity..." Therefore, Malachi, who was the final prophet, said: "Remember the Torah of Moses My servant..."

It is among the foundations of the religion to believe in the Oral Torah, as it is said: "According to the Torah which they shall instruct you...". And the Holy One, Blessed be He, did not strike a covenant with Israel except for the sake of the Oral Torah, as it is said: "For according to these words I have struck a covenant with you and with Israel" (Gittin 60a). And the Oral Torah provides a spirit of life into the Written Torah, for there is not even one mitzvah in it explained according to its halachah, and the Oral Torah explains it. And this is the Mishnah and the Gemara, in which all the details of the mitzvot were explained. And anyone who does not acknowledge the Oral Torah—has no portion in the God of Israel.

And it is among the foundations of the faith to believe in the reward of the World to Come, in the punishment of Gehinnom, in the coming of the Mashiach, and in the resurrection of the dead. And likewise, it is among the foundations of the faith to perform all the mitzvot not because the intellect dictates so—such as in mitzvot between man and his fellow—but because the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded us to do so. Therefore, it was said in the latter utterances regarding Shabbat and honoring one's father: "as the Lord your God commanded you." This is because it is agreed upon by every nation and tongue that a person needs to rest one day a week in order to strengthen his powers, and likewise there is agreement in every nation and tongue to honor one's parents. For this reason the Torah said: "Observe the Shabbat day to sanctify it, as the Lord your God commanded you," "Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you." That is to say: and not because the intellect dictates so. And in the first utterances, before the sin of the golden calf, they did not require this warning, because they were all on the level of angels, as it is written: "I said, you are godlike, and all of you are sons of the Most High." And there are further foundations of the faith, and the Rambam included them in thirteen principles, and they are printed in the prayer books and known to all. However, the truth is that every mitzvah of the 613 mitzvot is a foundation among the foundations of the faith, and every letter of the Torah is a foundation among the foundations of the faith. And the proof: that with the lack of one letter it is invalid. And likewise in the Oral Torah, one who refuses to accept one matter is a min, as the Rambam wrote at the beginning of the third chapter of Mamrim, and this is his wording: One who does not acknowledge the Oral Torah—behold, he is among the minim, see there. And there is no difference between when he does not acknowledge all of it, or does not acknowledge a portion of it, just as with the Written Torah. And one should not elaborate on this, for this is known to the students of our holy Torah.

This is the wording of the Ra'ah in the Sefer HaChinuch (in the introduction): Six mitzvot are constant obligations, they do not cease for even a single moment throughout all the days of a person's life. And every moment that one thinks of them—he has fulfilled a positive commandment. And these are they: The first: To believe that there is one God in the world, who created this great creation. And He was, and He is, and He will be for all eternity. And He brought us out of Egypt, and gave us the Torah. And this is included in the verse, "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt...". And the second: That we believe there is no god besides Him, as it is said: "You shall have no other gods before Me." That is to say: that there is no power besides Him. And the third: To unify Him, as it is said: "The Lord is one." And the fourth: To love Him, as it is said: "And you shall love...". And the fifth: To fear Him, as it is said: "The Lord your God you shall fear." And the sixth: Not to follow after the heart and after the eyes, as it is written: "And you shall not follow after your hearts and after your eyes...". And "after your hearts"—this refers to heresy. "And after your eyes"—this refers to licentiousness (end of the first chapter of Berakhot). Thus far his words, and the intention is not to bring to mind a thought of heresy. And if it should arise in the heart on its own—one should divert it from his mind, and strengthen himself in Torah and fear of the Lord, and distance his eyes from matters of licentiousness. And if by chance it should come before his eyes—he should divert his mind and strengthen himself...

We learned in Avot, chapter four: Rabbi Yaakov says: This world is like a corridor before the World to Come. Prepare yourself in the corridor, so that you may enter the banquet hall. And this is a great principle in the life of a Jewish man, to know that this world is a world of action, and the World to Come is a world of reward, and this world is the gate through which to enter the World to Come. Therefore, he should be careful not to waste time for nothing, for time is more precious than all existing things, and a day that has passed will never return. It is enough that necessities take up a large portion of time, and the days of a man's life are short, and when a man reaches the days of old age—he sees that all is vanity. Regarding this, Solomon said: "And remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come, and the years arrive of which you will say: I have no desire in them" (Ecclesiastes 12:1). And "the evil days" are the days of old age. And that which you will then say "I have no desire in them," meaning: in all matters of this world. And then you will recognize the truth of your own accord, but your strengths will be weak. Therefore, "remember your Creator in the days of your youth," and surrender your soul for the sanctification of Hashem. And it will be explained in Yoreh Deah siman 157 at length with the help of Heaven.

And in the fifth chapter of Avot we learned: Yehuda ben Teima says: Be bold as a leopard and light as an eagle, swift as a deer and mighty as a lion, to do the will of your Father in Heaven. And the Bartenura explained: "Bold as a leopard" – that you should not be ashamed to ask your teacher what you did not understand, for the bashful person does not learn. "And light as an eagle" – to review your studies and you shall not grow weary, as it is written: "They shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary." And "swift as a deer" – to pursue the mitzvot. "And mighty as a lion" – to conquer your inclination from transgressions. Thus far his words. And the Tur explained: "Bold as a leopard" – that you should be bold against those who mock, and do not refrain from performing a mitzvah because of those who mock. "And light as an eagle" which flies in the heavens, and you shall shut your eyes from seeing evil, for the eye is the beginning of the transgression. "Swift as a deer" – that your feet shall run toward good. "And mighty as a lion" – against the heart, that you shall strengthen your heart in His service, see there. (And in my humble opinion it seems that because man is composed of four primary elements: fire, air, water, earth. And he said "bold as a leopard" against the element of fire which is very bold, "and light as an eagle" against the element of air which is very light, "swift as a deer" against the element of water which is in a state of running and returning, "and mighty as a lion" against the element of earth which is strong and hard. And the intention is that one should use all the elements of the body only for the matters of the Creator, blessed be He, and not for the matters of this world.)

Our teacher, the Rema, wrote: "I have set Hashem before me always" – this is a great principle in the Torah and in the virtues of the righteous who walk before God. For a person's sitting, his movements, and his affairs while he is alone in his house are not like his sitting, his movements, and his affairs while he is before a great king. Nor is his speech and the opening of his mouth as he desires while he is with the members of his household and his relatives like his speech in the assembly of the king. All the more so when a person takes to heart that the Great King, the Holy One, Blessed be He, whose glory fills all the earth, stands over him and sees his actions, as it is said: "If a man hides in secret places, shall I not see him? says Hashem" – immediately there will reach him awe and submission in fear of Hashem, may He be blessed, and his shame before Him always. Even in walking modestly, and when he lies on his bed – he should know before whom he lies. And immediately upon awakening from his sleep – he should rise with alacrity for the service of his Creator, may He be blessed and exalted. And he should not be ashamed before people who mock him in the service of Hashem, may He be blessed (so it must be said). Thus far his words, and he is saying two things: Since the Holy One, Blessed be He, stands over him always, therefore even in walking modestly, meaning even when he is alone or with his wife and children – he should conduct himself with awe and submission like one standing before a king. And so it is explained in the Moreh Nevukhim (Part Three, Chapter 52) which is the source of these words, see there. And he further says that his fear and shame before Hashem, may He be blessed, should be upon him always. Therefore, even when he is among people – he should do what is incumbent upon him in the service of Hashem, may He be blessed, and not be ashamed before the mockers if there are mockers, for the shame before Hashem, may He be blessed, shall prevail over the shame before people. And he also should not quarrel with them (Magen Avraham), for quarreling is a contemptible trait and leads to impudence. One must distance himself from it even when quarreling for the sake of a mitzvah; rather, he should do his deed for the sake of Hashem, may He be blessed, and not heed their mockery. (And as for what David said: "And with those who rise up against You, I shall quarrel" – this refers to a debate in matters of religion, or when they do not allow the performance of the mitzvot, where it is impossible otherwise. But because of mere mockery, there is no need to quarrel.)

In the words of Ben Tema it was explained that one must be "mighty as a lion." Therefore, every morning when he rises from his bed – he shall strengthen himself like a lion to stand for the service of his Creator. And even if his inclination entices him in the winter, saying: "How will you stand in the morning when the cold is great?", or entices him in the summer, saying: "How will you stand from your bed when you are not yet satisfied with your sleep?" – strengthen yourself against it to rise, so that you awaken the dawn and it does not awaken you. As David said: "Awake, my glory; awake, lute and harp; I will awaken the dawn" – I awaken the dawn, and the dawn does not awaken me. And all the more so if he rises early before the light of morning to stand and supplicate before his Creator – how good and how beautiful it is (Tur). And if he is unable to rise early before the light of morning, nevertheless, the prayer which is the time for all the living – he should not delay it (that he should pray with a tzibur). And he should think in his heart: if he were in the service of a king of flesh and blood, and he commanded him to rise early at the light of morning for his service – he would be careful and diligent to stand for his service as he commanded him. All the more so, a fortiori, before the King of kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He (ibid.). And this is what our teacher, the Rema, wrote, that in any event he should not delay the time of prayer that the tzibur prays, see there.

David said: "And as for me, may my prayer to You, Hashem, be at a time of favor…". And so too Isaiah said: "In a time of favor I have answered you." Learn from this that a "time of favor" is a significant matter (Yevamot 72a). And in the Gemara they explained: when is a "time of favor"? At the hour when the congregation prays (Berakhot 8a). And so it is in the Zohar Terumah (page 156a), and this is its wording: We have learned, when is it called a "time of favor"? At the hour when the congregation prays…, see there. However, in Yevamot ibid. it is explained that midnight is a "time of favor," see there. And in Yoma (69b) it is explained that there is a "time of favor" even without a fixed hour and without a congregation. And so it is explained in Taanit (24b) that through a dream it was revealed to Rava that now is a time of favor, see there. And all is true, for certainly there are fixed times for a "time of favor," and there are also those without fixed times according to the decree of the King of the world.

The Tur and the Shulchan Aruch wrote in section 2: One who rises early to supplicate before his Creator—he should aim for the hours when the watches change, which are at the end of the first third of the night, at the end of two-thirds of the night, and at the end of the night. For the prayer that he prays at those hours regarding the destruction and the exile is favorable. Thus far his words. And this matter is clarified from what they said at the beginning of Berakhot, that at every watch He roars, as it were, like a lion, as it is written: "The Lord shall roar from on high... He shall mightily roar over His habitation." And behold, according to the first resolution in the Gemara (3a) which considers the middle of the middle watch—it works well, as it considers midnight among them as well. But according to the second resolution which considers the end of the watches, the reason it does not teach midnight among them is because midnight is a time of favor for all matters, while these three are only regarding the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. Therefore, that which the sages of Kabbalah elaborated that midnight is a time of favor to seek mercy for the destruction and for the Assembly of Israel works well even according to the Gemara, for midnight is a time of favor for everything. (And the commentators labored in vain. And see Magen Avraham, subsection 4, who wrote that according to the second resolution the Gemara disagrees with this, see there. And in my humble opinion it is not so. Examine it and you will find it simple.)

Our teacher, the Beit Yosef, wrote in section 3: It is fitting for every fearer of Heaven to be distressed and concerned over the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. Thus far his words, and it appears that this refers to what was mentioned above, regarding the three watches. And this is from the wording of the Rosh, who wrote concerning that matter of the three watches, and this is his wording: It is fitting for every fearer of Heaven to be distressed and concerned at that hour, and to pour out supplications over the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, as it is said: "Arise, cry out in the night at the beginning of the watches, pour out your heart like water...". Thus far his words. And also that which he wrote afterward in section 4: A little supplication with kavanah is better than much without kavanah. Thus far his words—this also refers to this same matter, regarding the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. And it is from the words of the Tur who wrote concerning that matter of the three watches, and this is his wording: And the prayer that one prays at that hour over the destruction is desirable... whether one does much or one does little, provided that he directs his heart in his supplications. For a little with kavanah is better than much of them without kavanah. Thus far his words. That is to say: for example, if he has an hour to say supplications and no more—he should not say many supplications without kavanah, and a little with the kavanah of the heart is better. And the same law applies to all things, such as in the study of Torah, in the saying of Tehillim, and the like: a little with kavanah is better than much without kavanah. And according to the opinion of the scholars of Kabbalah, the primary tikkun is at chatzot of the night, as is printed in the siddurim. And according to the Gemara it is also so, as I wrote in the previous section. And chatzot is in the middle of the night, twelve hours after chatzot of the day, whether in summer or in winter. And so most of the great ones of Israel agreed, and such is the primary ruling. (But it is not the intention of the Beit Yosef to awaken us to remember the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, for that is obvious, as in the Shemoneh Esrei three blessings are fixed for this: "And to Jerusalem," "The offspring of David," "Be pleased...". And also in Birkat HaMazon there is a fixed blessing for this. And before Birkat HaMazon we are accustomed to say "By the rivers of Babylon" and on Shabbat and Yom Tov and Rosh Chodesh "A song of ascents." And how many remembrances do we perform for the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, and particularly in the days of the straits. And who is the Jewish man who would forget it? Rather, his intention is regarding the time of the watches, as I have written. Examine it and you will find it simple.)

The Tur and Shulchan Aruch wrote in section 5: It is good to say the passage of the Akedah, and the passage of the Manna, and the Ten Commandments, and the passage of the Olah, and Minchah, and Shelamim, and Chattat, and Asham. Thus far their words. And in section 9, our teacher, the Beit Yosef, wrote: Some are accustomed to say the passage of the Kiyor and the passage of the Terumat HaDeshen. And afterward the passage of the Tamid. And afterward the passage of the Altar for burning incense and the passage of the ingredients of the incense and its preparation. Thus far his words. And in section 8 he wrote: One should say with the passage of the sacrifices: "And he shall slaughter it on the side of the Altar northward before Hashem." Thus far his words, because it is found in the Midrash that at the time when Israel says this verse—the Holy One, Blessed be He, remembers the Akedah of Yitzchak. And we say it after the passage of the Tamid.

And behold, our custom, as is printed in the prayer books: we say the passage of the Akedah, and afterwards the passage of the kiyor and the terumat hadeshen, and the passage of the tamid and the ketoret, both that which is written in the Torah and also the entire exposition of our sages, of blessed memory, at the beginning of Keritot (6a), that there were eleven spices in it and these are they: the balsam, and the onycha…, and all the details of the laws regarding them. And afterwards we say: "Abaye would arrange the order of the altar-stack," and it is from the third chapter of Yoma, see there. But we do not say the passage of the manna, nor the Ten Commandments, nor the passages of the olah, minchah, shelamim, chatat, and asham. Rather, we say the entire fifth chapter of Zevachim: "Eizehu Mekoman…". And this is not against the words of our teacher, the Beit Yosef, for it seems to me that regarding what he wrote in section 9, "There are those who have the custom…" – his intention is also thus. That is to say: there are those who have the custom not to say as I wrote in section 5, but rather the passage of the kiyor…

And the reason seems to me to be that prayer which was established for the community, meaning that all of Israel should say it—is only matters of the community and not matters of the individual. And why should the parashah of the burnt offering, and the meal offering, and the peace offerings, and the sin offering, and the guilt offering be said, as these are not communal, and there is even no obligation for the individual? And that which we say the chapter "Eizehu Mekoman"—this is in order to study a chapter of Mishnah every day, which is the Oral Torah, and they naturally chose this chapter which speaks of the matters of the sacrifices, and it is an anonymous teaching without dispute. But to establish these sacrifices from the parashiyot of the Torah—there is no need. And if it is because of the study of the Written Torah, there is much in the prayer: the three parashiyot of Keriat Shema, and the Song of the Sea. And the parashah of the Tamid... and the parashah of the Akedah is certainly said, as it is the merit of all of Israel, and to remember the merit of our holy ancestors. And therefore "Master of the Universe" was established afterward, and its essence is from the Midrash regarding the matter of the Akedah, see there. And also the Ten Commandments cannot be established in the community, for they abolished them because of the grievances of the heretics, so that they should not say: There is no Torah but this one, as is found at the end of the first chapter of Berakhot. For indeed they raised a difficulty regarding that which was in section 5, where he wrote to say the Ten Commandments, and they answered that for an individual it is permitted. And this is what our teacher, the Rema, wrote there, and this is his wording: And specifically for an individual is it permitted to say the Ten Commandments every day. But it is forbidden to say them in the community. Thus far his words. And if so, it follows naturally that this cannot be a fixed version. But regarding the parashah of the Manna which they omitted—I do not know the reason. However, in truth, the parashah of the Manna was not mentioned in the Shas. And there are those who brought it from the Yerushalmi Berakhot (Perishah, note 14), but I did not find this in the Yerushalmi. And the reason seems to me: because in this parashah their grievances against Hashem are mentioned many times, as it is written there: "For I have heard your complaints," "I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel," and more, see there. And they also spoke evil of the Manna, as they said: "And now our soul is dried up, there is nothing at all, we have only the Manna to look at." And so it is found in Midrash Shemot (parashah 25): "I was found by those who did not seek Me"—they should have sought mercy from before Me, but instead they stood and poured out grievances toward Heaven. Thus far his words. And we also say there: And for what reason did they not say a song over the Manna... for they would utter words of folly over the Manna. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: I seek neither your grievances nor your praises, see there. And therefore they did not establish this in the community (so it seems according to my humble opinion).

The parashah of the Tamid and the incense should not be recited at night, for the offering of the Tamid and the incense is only by day. However, the parashah of the Kiyor and the removal of the ashes may be recited even before the light of day; on the contrary, the primary removal of the ashes was at night, as we learned in Yoma (2a): Every day they remove the ashes from the altar at the crowing of the rooster or near it... and on Yom Kippur from midnight, and on the festivals from the first watch, see there. So too the burning of the limbs which is in this parashah was all night, and consequently they were required beforehand to sanctify their hands and feet from the Kiyor, and therefore we recite the parashah of the Kiyor before the parashah of the removal of the ashes. And afterwards for the Tamid the kohanim were not required to sanctify from the Kiyor. And even though we hold like Rabbi in Zevachim (19b) that remaining overnight disqualifies the sanctification of hands and feet, nevertheless we hold like Rabbi Yochanan ibid. (20a) who said: If he sanctified his hands and feet for the removal of the ashes, the next day he does not need to sanctify, because it is the beginning of the service, see there. And so the Rambam ruled in the fifth chapter of Biat Mikdash, see there. And according to this, it appears that even before midnight one may recite the parashah of the Kiyor and the removal of the ashes, for on the festivals they removed the ashes from the first watch, yet they did not practice so. And perhaps because throughout the year they would remove the ashes before the crowing of the rooster or after the crowing of the rooster, therefore we also mention this only before the light of day after midnight.

And there is one who wrote that one must say these passages specifically while standing, because one who is sitting is disqualified from the service (Magen Avraham, beginning of siman 48). And many disagree with this (Sha'arei Teshuva ibid. in the name of the Tevuot Shor, and the Chakham Tzevi and Mor U-Ketziah). And in truth, were all of Israel offering the sacrifices? Behold, the kohanim offer them, and that which we say "as if we offered" is because the sacrifice belonged to the collective of Israel, from the funds of the Terumat HaLishka. And the kohanim are our agents, and they are agents of Heaven. And if it is because of the Ma'amadot, which were an obligation upon the collective of Israel as we learned in the fourth chapter of Ta'anit, were they obligated to stand specifically? And in my humble opinion, it seems that a kohen must stand, for he must think: if it were in the time of the Mikdash, he himself would be the one offering and burning the incense. But a Levi and a Yisrael do not need to stand. (And it requires further study why they did not ordain saying the Shir Shel Yom after the Tamid and the incense, for behold, the song was at the time of the wine libation, as we learned in Tamid. And in the passage of the Tamid we said "and its libation of wine...", so why did they ordain it after the prayer? And perhaps because we hold: their meal-offerings and their libations may be offered even at night, therefore they were not concerned about this. Furthermore: that the kohanim themselves would recite Keriat Shema and pray a little immediately after the slaughter of the Tamid, as we learned in the fifth chapter of Tamid, and the song was a long time afterward, and therefore we also do so. And examine and you will find it simple.)

The Tur wrote: And when one finishes the parashah of the olah, he should say: "Master of the Worlds! May it be Your will before You that this be considered and accepted before You as if I had offered an olah in its time." And so he should say regarding the parashah of the minchah, and the shelamim, and the asham. But after the parashah of the chatat he should not say this, because it does not come as a voluntary offering. Thus far his words. However, our teacher, the Beit Yosef, did not mention asham as well, because an asham also does not come as a voluntary offering, as he wrote in his great book. But the Tur holds that an asham talui also comes as a voluntary offering, as is clear from his words in Yoreh Deah siman 5 (where he ruled like Rabbi Eliezer in Keritot (25a) that one may volunteer an asham talui every day). And the Rambam did not rule accordingly. And it must be said: even though the Tur did not specify an asham talui, nevertheless his intention was such, because an unspecified "asham" refers to an asham talui. And some say it is because it is in one's power to vow to be a nazir, and to defile himself and bring an asham (see Magen Avraham subsection 11). And this is not understandable at all, for is it then a vow of a nazir (11)? And there are several other difficulties with this, and therefore it appears as I wrote previously, that his intention was for an asham talui. (And in my humble opinion it can be said: the words of the Tur are according to the system of our teacher Tam in Pesachim 73a, the heading beginning "asham," see there. And examine closely and you will find it easy.)

And now we say the "May it be Your will" in the Mishnayot of "Eizehu Mekoman" regarding the burnt offering, the thanksgiving offering, and the peace offerings. The Maharshal wrote that by way of a condition one may also say regarding the sin offering and the guilt offering: "If I have become liable for a sin offering – let it be as if I have offered a sin offering," and similarly regarding a guilt offering. That is to say: and if not – let it be as one who reads in the Torah (and the difficulty of the Taz at the end of subsection 7 is answered). And there is one who wondered about this, for we hold that a sin offering requires knowledge at the outset (Magen Avraham ibid.). And it is not a wonder, for he says: "as if I have offered a sin offering," and the intention is: "as if I have offered with knowledge" (there are those who say). And also a guilt offering, according to the opinion of the Rambam, requires knowledge at the outset, and there is no need to elaborate on this.

In the Yerushalmi at the beginning of the chapter "Tefillat HaShachar" it says: And from where did they learn three prayers? Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani says: Corresponding to the three times that the day changes for the creatures. In the morning one must say: "I thank You..., for You have brought me from darkness to light." In Mincha one must say: "I thank..., just as You have granted me to see the sun in the east, so I have merited to see the sun in the west." In the evening one must say: "May it be Your will..., just as I was in darkness, and You brought me from darkness to light, so may You bring me from darkness to light." See there, and none of the poskim cited this. (And perhaps because Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani says that this is corresponding to the prayers, while Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi and Rabbi Yossi said there that we learn them from the Patriarchs and the daily offerings, see there. And in our Gemara there, only the words of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi and Rabbi Yossi were cited, and not the words of Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani; therefore the poskim omitted this.)